First Presbyterian Church of Peoria makes National Register of Historic Places

by Allie Seligman - Oct. 3, 2012 09:19 AMThe Republic | azcentral.com

First Presbyterian Church of Peoria, the oldest building in Peoria's original town site, is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

City planner Melissa Sigmund said the recognition gives the church, which was built in 1899 at 83rd Avenue and Madison Street, more protection at the national level.

"It provides an extra layer of basically background research before anything would be permitted on a federal level," she said.

Primarily, though, being placed on the register is an honor, recognizing what the red-brick church has done for Peoria.

"The local register listing is more of the teeth, and this is more a celebration of the building," she said.

First Presbyterian also is on the city and state historic-place registers.

The church was not nominated for its architecture, Sigmund said, but "what's gone on there."

First Presbyterian was one of the first brick buildings built in the area, she said.

"It was important not just to the congregation, but to the community as a whole -- it was a place of ... interest," she said. "In the town site, this was one of those key community structures."

The church is Peoria's third building on the national register, behind Peoria Central School and Palo Verde Ruin.

"It's been definitely a long time coming. I think folks in the area who see the building look at it and recognize it's something special already," Sigmund said. "This just confirms that."

Priscilla Cook, a member at First Presbyterian since 1939, helped compile much of the information that went into the application. Some of it she knew, and some came from the church's history book.

Cook, 92, said the application shows what the church has done for residents over the years.

"It's good that you can be recognized ... not just being a church but doing some good," she said. "I don't just go to church for myself. I go so that I can help others, too."

The church has a strong preschool program and regularly participates in community events, she said.

Cook, who moved to Peoria in 1929, started the application about a year and a half ago. Before that, churches did not qualify for the national register.

"She's been like a dog with a bone," church treasurer Bonnie Lambert said. "She just would not give up."

Lambert, a Peoria resident and member of the church for four years, said the staff and congregants are excited about the acknowledgment.

"We're just thrilled," she said. "This is just such a great little church."

Being on the national register brings more opportunities for federal grants, something that will come in handy as the church ages, Lambert said.

"We just want to preserve the history of Peoria," she said. "Because we're such a little church, we can't really afford to do it ourselves. ... The fact that it's going to stay, that's a big thing."

Over the years, First Presbyterian has held programs for kids and high-school students and hahosted dinners and collected items for those in need.

"There are a lot of people that just need a little hand," Lambert said. "If our pastor stood out and said I need 100 bags of whatever by Monday for such and such, it would be here, no questions asked. That's just the way this church is."